Studies like this just piss me off, mainly because I'm looking in the freezer for some ice pops and the box is in there with a tear in its side from that time i went to grab it by the lip and it tore because the bag of frozen chicken legs was sort of on top of it even though I couldn't tell at first and so when i pulled the bag it tore and a couple of ice pops fell out on the floor and my dog got two of them and ran outside. She doesn't have a dog door but she tore the screen and my friend judy said I'd better fix it because, man, squirrels. Can you imagine how a squirrel would be in a house? Running around all frantic and hopping on stuff. I heard once that squirrels can make noise but I've never heard one do anything but scamper, and that's not really noise if you think about that's just their claws on tree bark. Squirrel claw. Squirrel Claw. Squirrelclaw. That would make an awesome name for a superhero or something, maybe not a superhero but like a super power, like the guy can make his hand take the shape of a squirrel's claw and scamper up a building. Like spiderman, but not a spider, you know? Man, I want an ice pop.

I remember reading that smoking pot reduced testosterone and sex drive. So I spent my teen years smoking joints in between bouts of flogging my wang into a state of bloody callouses, praying to god that it would eventually actually work.

I use pot for this exact effect, and I have been since I discovered it at 14 years old. Smoking is the ONLY way I have found to get my brain to shut up. It cures my migraines faster than Excedrin, and it relaxes my mind enough that I can actually fall asleep or watch non intellectual TV (for example, I can't stand Family Guy unless I'm baked). My IQ might maybe be lower while I am under the influence, but it certainly doesn't stay that way.

I can't possibly be the only one to use it for this purpose. I thought for like 6 years after I started that this was what it's for.

If I did smoke, which I would never admit to on a public forum, I would completely agree with you.

FloydA:What's ironic is that these data will probably be used to try to support a "tough on drugs" stance, when in fact, the most effective way to reduce teenagers' access to pot would be to legalize it and treat it like alcohol or tobacco- no ID, no sale. The street corner pot dealers don't ask for ID, but shop clerks do. Legalize it for sale to adults and the profit will drop out of the bottom, so the criminal gangs won't sell it anymore. Immediately, teenagers' access to pot would be dramatically diminished.

Ummm...does anyone think the corner dealers are going to go away if pot is legalized? Really?

I imagine any activity that you did obsessively at the expense of time spent challenging yourself academically would lead to an erosion of IQ scores. Especially a developing adolescent mind. You could have the same actual intelligence at 13 that you do at 21 and would score lower at 21 because of how the testing is done. Spending every day in a stupor during a period where your potential for gaining brain power is the greatest is just bad policy regardless. That said, only 8 points? Probably worth it.

scottydoesntknow:What kind of point are you trying to make? Of course some will get a hold of cigarettes (and booze), but I've never known a single dealer to turn away business based on age or lack of ID.

We got booze just about every weekend. And cases of beer (and during one phase, cases of 40's) are big and relatively heavy. Not super easy to sneak around. You could balance an equal supply of weed on your head.

My point? There are plenty of good arguments for legalizing marijuana; less access for teens ain't one of them.